


First Date

by mallaidhsomo



Category: Mass Effect Trilogy
Genre: Blind Date, F/M, First Dates, First Kiss, Fluff, biotic booty, lawenko
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-30
Updated: 2021-01-30
Packaged: 2021-03-16 21:28:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,522
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29089077
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mallaidhsomo/pseuds/mallaidhsomo
Summary: Shepard sets Miranda up on a blind date... sort of.It wasn't often Miranda was taken by surprise, but Shepard had a way of turning things on their heads, so when Kaidan Alenko walked in, wearing a pair of charcoal gray dress pants and dark blue dress shirt instead of an Alliance uniform or set of armor, Miranda may have gaped a little. Thankfully, he looked as surprised as she was.
Relationships: Kaidan Alenko/Miranda Lawson
Comments: 20
Kudos: 18





	First Date

**Author's Note:**

  * For [potionsmaster](https://archiveofourown.org/users/potionsmaster/gifts).



> A few friends and I over at the Bioware Fanfiction Writers Discord got into a conversation about Lawenko being one of our favorite rare-pairs. We decided to christen January 30 as Lawenko Biotic Booty Day, and I wrote this thing. ;)
> 
> I'm gifting this fic to potionsmaster, who has been a hell of a supporter of my writing, an amazing friend, and is a HUGE lawenko shipper.
> 
> Special thanks to [ shadoedseptmbr](https://archiveofourown.org/users/shadoedseptmbr) for her last minute beta skills!!

Miranda's night had gone far better than she'd expected. She had mentally prepared herself, standing in front of her vanity, for an absolute _disaster_. Why had she agreed to let Shepard set her up on a date?

_Because_ , she reminded herself, her excuses for being alone were starting to become thin. It had been easy to blame it on the war, but the war was over, and people were starting to look towards a future they didn't think they'd have. Miranda figured maybe it was time she did the same. And in the end, that's all they were, excuses. She didn't suspect a blind date on behalf of Shepard was going to lead her to the companionship she craved, but it was a step in the right direction.

So she told Shepard she agreed to this blind date, but then the doubts rose to the forefront again when Shepard's face turned a little red and she replied that it wasn't a _blind date_ , not really, since they'd technically met before.

That didn't narrow it down, but peaked Miranda's interest, and her concern.

"Relax, Miranda," Shepard replied cheerily. "I think you two will like each other,"

"If we've met before, why not just tell me who it is, then?"

Shepard made an apologetic face. "Um, because you probably wouldn't show up if I did."

_That_ gave her pause, and she almost called off the whole thing then and there. Told Shepard as much, as a matter of fact, but her friend, ever the feisty redhead, _insisted_ that she had a knack for these things and to just trust her, she might be surprised.

Of course Miranda trusted her. Shepard took her on a suicide mission and brought her back alive, after all. How bad could one blind(ish) date be?

Miranda showed up to the restaurant, a fancy asari place, fifteen minutes early and took a seat at the bar facing the entrance. She mentally catalogued the people she'd met with Shepard over the years, deciding which ones would cause her to take her predetermined escape route out the back of the restaurant and which ones she'd deal with for an hour or so.

It wasn't often Miranda was taken by surprise, but Shepard had a way of turning things on their heads, so when Kaidan Alenko walked in, wearing a pair of charcoal gray dress pants and dark blue dress shirt instead of an Alliance uniform or set of armor, Miranda _may_ have gaped a little. Thankfully, he looked as surprised as she was.

The one and only time she'd met Kaidan had been at Shepard's apartment, during the party she decided to throw in the middle of a war. The most they had said to each other was 'excuse me' while passing on the staircase. Miranda hadn't had the pleasure of witnessing what Joker had referred to as the 'clusterfuck' on Horizon, though she had heard about it after.

Everything Miranda knew about him had come from the files she'd obtained during the Lazarus Project; L2 biotic, model soldier, practically oozed honor and integrity out of his pores.

And a virulent hate for all things Cerberus.

Miranda expected him to scowl, maybe turn on his heel and walk right back out the door, so when he simply smirked and shook his head, slipping into the seat next to her and asking her what she was drinking, Miranda found herself surprised for the second time that day.

"I imagine you already have a plan in place in case this went bad," he said casually, sliding a credit chit across the bar for his whisky neat and her glass of wine. "Don't feel obligated to stick around. We can make up a story to tell Shepard."

Miranda studied his earnest face for a moment, fingering the stem of her wine glass. The beginnings of a five-o'clock shadow graced his jaw, though Miranda imagined that was more genetic than a style choice. Warm brown eyes and an open grin. Miranda tried not to focus on the physical things about people, but it was hard to deny how handsome he was.

She shrugged one shoulder, offering him a small smile of her own. "I came here for dinner. May as well not eat alone."

He smirked, motioning the waiter over to take them to their table.

Miranda could hold a conversation, even when it felt like pulling teeth. It was a skill learned over years of practice, to make dialogue seem easy and seamless, even when it was far from it. She expected more of the same with Kaidan, forced chit-chat, conversation that only _appeared_ relaxed, Miranda counting the minutes until she could politely excuse herself.

The third surprise of the day came in the form of the easy, free-flowing conversation that developed between the two of them from the moment they began to study the menus. Kaidan ordered a steak and didn't bat an eye when Miranda ordered the same.

He asked her about her work, listening with an interest that was hard to fake when she discussed how she was creating easily accessible and top of the line prosthetics for the abundance of injured left by the war. He told her about his students, a gleam of pride in his eyes as he discussed the young biotics that he mentored and trained.

She couldn't help but be a _little_ impressed, though she wouldn't say that out loud. Human biotics had come far in just a few years' time, and it was at least partially because of the man in front of her; only the second human to be given Spectre status and a member of the legendary Normandy crew. As far as poster boys went, human biotics couldn’t do much better.

Even more impressive was that Kaidan didn't seem the type to toot his own horn. She imagined he'd shrug it off, call it his job. Humble. Miranda had worked with enough arrogant people in her life to understand the difference between arrogance and confidence; the acceptance and understanding of your abilities and strengths without the desire to rub them in peoples’ faces or use them to exploit those less fortunate than you. It was an attractive trait, to say the least.

He asked about her sister, another surprise in a day full of them.

"Did Shepard mention my sister?" Miranda asked, curious. He wouldn’t have known about Oriana, otherwise.

He hummed, learning back in his seat as the waiter slid their dinner plates in front of them. "I was on the ground team with Shepard on Sanctuary."

Miranda nodded briefly. Sanctuary was a bit of a blur if she was being honest. Still, it was a pleasant surprise that he took the initiative to remember those details and ask about her. "I'm sorry, I don't recall seeing you there."

He shrugged one brawny shoulder, a small smile tugging at the corner of his mouth. "It's fine. You had more important things on your plate at the moment. How is your sister doing these days?"

Miranda smiled, as she always did when she spoke of Oriana. "She's doing well. Working with me, actually. I do most of the R&D, but Ori is better with the marketing portion,"

"It sounds like very rewarding work." He said with a soft smile. Miranda noticed that he was one of those people who smiled with their entire face; his eyes would crinkle at the corners when he grinned, and his nose would wrinkle up slightly.

Miranda hummed around the rim of her wine glass. "It very much is."

She asked him about his family, offering condolences when he mentioned he had lost his father in the war. He mentioned his mother was still alive and well on Earth, near Vancouver, and he planned to visit her in a few months.

He was a gentleman. Miranda was attuned to the way people looked at her, but Kaidan never once stared at her chest while she was speaking and never made a quip about her 'perfect genetics' as many were wont to do. She herself wasn't so innocent and couldn't help but admire how… _well_ his pants fit when he excused himself to use the restroom.

When the waiter came by with the dessert menu, they decided to share two different items, both highly sweet and stuffed with biotic friendly calories. Miranda discovered he was funny, not in a slapstick, obvious way like Shepard, but in a more reserved, sardonic manner. It was charming.

It was while they were discussing omni-tools and commiserating over how many tools they had to replace for Shepard over the years that Miranda decided he had a nice smile. A _really_ nice smile, in fact, and she may have caught herself staring a little bit, only to realize it when he blushed slightly, chuckling.

So. A little shy, too. Also charming.

They split the tab, even though Miranda could tell he wanted to offer to pay. The skycar terminal was just around the corner from the restaurant, and he offered to walk her to it.

"I um, actually had a really good time tonight," he declared, stuffing his hands in his pockets. He offered her a sideways glance and a shy smile.

Miranda chuckled. "'Actually'?"

The neon lights of the Presidium cast shadows over both of them, doing amazing things to the planes of his face, the strength of his jaw.

He shrugged, flushing a little, and Miranda couldn't help but think how cute it was. "Come on, don't tell me part of you didn't think this was going to end in disaster."

She hummed, side-stepping around a single-minded salarian that mumbled to himself as he marched past her. Her hand brushed Kaidan's, just slightly, but the hairs on her arms stood to attention at the contact. That was…not was she expected.

"Well," she mused, clearing her throat. "Yes, I was a little surprised. You’ve been quite vocal about your distain for my former employer, after all.”

He shrugged, his thick brows pinching together as he stared straight ahead. “’Former’ being the operative word.” He sighed. “Shepard and I had a very frank chat during the war, after I came back on board the Normandy. I realize I can be a little…rigid in my beliefs from time to time…”

Miranda hummed at that and he shot her a sardonic look. “Yes, that may have come up a couple of times after Horizon.”

Something like pain crossed his face, very briefly. The type of old pain that you may have dealt with and put away, but maybe not as much as you’d like to.

“I don’t think either of us were at our best that day,” he said, chewing on his bottom lip in concentration. “Anyway, Shepard and I talked it out, and I realized that I was judging the whole based on the actions of a few. Not everyone in a Cerberus uniform was evil; some genuinely wanted to do the right thing.” He shrugged. “Besides, she’s always spoke very highly of you, and she’s nothing if not a good judge of character.”

Miranda grinned. “That she is. And for what it’s worth, I knew that she had the utmost respect for you and valued your friendship, even when she was royally pissed at you.”

He snorted, the corners of his full lips pulling up. They came to a stop in front of the sky car terminal.

"I'd…like to see you again, if you want," he said, and the open and earnest look on his face made Miranda's stomach flutter.

She wanted that, she realized. The night had been nice. No expectations, good conversation, better company, and at least she _thought_ , a mutual attraction. She could just imagine Shepard eavesdropping on this whole situation gleefully, probably trying to disguise herself in a hat and dark sunglasses, sniggering in a corner.

"I'd like that," Miranda replied, and she reached out, catching his wrist and activating his omni-tool. She stole a glance at his face as she inputted her information and noticed his eyes had darkened just slightly, lips parted, and his gaze dropped to her mouth.

And in the final surprise of the night, Miranda Lawson did something without thinking and analyzing it first, standing up on the tips of her toes to brush her lips across his.

He was warm, and she could taste the remnants of whisky on his lips, which were softer than she'd imagined, not that she'd done that much imagining about his lips up until just now.

He responded to her touch, returning the kiss in kind, soft and tender. A strong hand cupped the back of her neck and tangled in her hair, taking care to avoid her amp port, an act that, to a biotic, was the equivalent of feeling them up in public. She rested her free hand against his chest as she leaned in, feeling more heat and a steady, sure heartbeat under her palm.

A shiver traveled down her spine and settled in her stomach, setting loose a flue of butterflies.

They pulled apart as her sky car descended, but she was smiling up into his handsome face, and he was smiling back, his fingertips tracing lazy circles against the nape of her neck. She leaned back in for just one more kiss, smiling into it, a giggle passing her lips before she could stop herself.

He let her loose when the skycar's door opened, putting a hand to the small of her back to guide her inside. He leaned down to peek inside as she settled into the seat, one muscular arm braced against the side of the car, a dopey smile plastered to his face.

"I'll call you?"

One half of her mouth pulled into a smile, and she winked at him. "You better."

He huffed, dropping his head for a moment and clearing his throat as a flush crept up his neck. Miranda smirked at how easy he was to read, glad that he couldn’t hear the frantic beating of her heart or feel the pleasant tingle on her lips from his stubble.

"Goodnight, Miranda."

"Goodnight, Kaidan,"

He palmed the control of the door to let it slide shut, giving her once last stunning smile before he disappeared from view. The skycar rose into the air, and Miranda had barely given the driver her address before her omni-tool beeped with a new message.

Miranda sighed. She didn't have to check it to know who it was from.

_J. Shepard: Well??? How did it go???_

_M. Lawson: It went well._

_J. Shepard: That's it? That's all you're going to say? Are you going to see him again?_

_M. Lawson: Yes. I gave him my information._

_J. Shepard: I KNEW IT. Did he kiss you?_

_M. Lawson: Maybe. Maybe I kissed him._

_J. Shepard: !!!! See?? What did I tell you? I knew you two would hit it off. When I'm right, I'm right, huh?_

Miranda closed her omni-tool with a smile. Shepard may have been right, but that didn't mean Miranda had to give her the satisfaction of admitting it. 

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading! If you want to chat about all ships ending in -enko, come visit me on [ Tumblr](https://mallaidhsomo.tumblr.com/). Mshenko is my flavor of choice, but I ship Kaidan with his own personal happiness so I venture out from time to time.


End file.
